In 1737, the Pennsylvania Gazette published Franklin's list of more than 200 synonyms for this word.

Did Franklin own slaves?

Franklin owned two slaves, George and King, who worked in his house. But he eventually freed them and became an abolitionist.

Which of these terms did Franklin NOT coin?

battery

telephone

electricity

Franklin came up with many electricity-related terms, but telephone wasn't one of them.

Franklin devised a new phonetic alphabet that would do away with the letters C, J, W, Y, Q and __.

Z

K

X

Franklin considered C, J, W, Y, Q and X to be redundant letters.

For how many years of his life did Franklin live overseas?

9

16

27

Franklin lived in London and Paris for a total of 27 years, crossing the Atlantic 20 times.

What discovery did Franklin make that cut two weeks off travel time across the Atlantic?

the Gulf Stream

El Nino

the trade winds

Franklin studied the currents on his many trips across the ocean. He noticed the warm current flowing like "a river in the ocean" and realized that ships traveling to Europe could go much faster if they followed it.

Which bird did Franklin argue might be a better national symbol than the eagle?

turkey

robin

hawk

In a letter to his daughter, Franklin wrote, "I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen as the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character…. the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird."

In 1775, Franklin became the first person to hold this position in the United States.

attorney general

postmaster general

surgeon general

Franklin was made the first postmaster general of the United States.

What was the name of the philosophical club that Franklin started in Philadelphia?

Junto

Paraiso

Leptero

Junto was a group of men from all different occupations that met on Friday nights.

In 1747, Franklin anonymously wrote a fictional story about this woman, who was prosecuted for having a child out of wedlock.

Sally Richmond

Prudence Jones

Polly Baker

"The Speech of Polly Baker" was an indictment of the judicial system, which persecuted unwed mothers but not men.

Franklin had quite a fondness for pseudonyms. What was another?

Richard Saunders

Chastity Swift

Jonathan Moore

The character of Richard Saunders was the namesake of "Poor Richard's Almanack," which Franklin published for 25 years.

Most of Franklin's famous sayings were first published in the almanac. This was NOT one of them.

"He that lies down with dogs will rise up with fleas."

"Love your neighbor, but don't pull down the hedge."

"United we stand, divided we fall."

"United we stand" does apply to the situation, but that's actually Aesop, not Franklin.

Bach and Beethoven composed pieces on this now-obscure instrument that Franklin invented.

euphonium

chordophone

glass armonica

The glass armonica is long out of vogue, but Franklin was very proud of it.

Franklin was an unlikely trendsetter when he moved to Paris toward the end of his life. What was one item that he made fashionable?

brocade vest

fur hat

heeled shoes

The French were ga-ga for the elderly Franklin's fur hats.

In 1783, Franklin negotiated this treaty, which ended the Revolution.

Treaty of Paris

Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Vincennes

Franklin, John Adams, John Jay and Henry Laurens represented the United States in the Treaty of Paris negotiations.

Franklin's son William was the governor of this state.

Pennsylvania

New York

New Jersey

Franklin himself had an illegitimate son, William, who was the last colonial governor of New Jersey.

At what age did Franklin become a self-proclaimed "gentleman of leisure?"

36

42

48

By 42, Franklin had made enough money to retire, and he literally printed all of the money for Pennsylvania and Delaware. Of course, he did more in "retirement" than 99.9 percent of other people.

Which college did Franklin NOT have a hand in founding?

Pennsylvania State University

Franklin & Marshall College

University of Pennsylvania

Franklin helped start the University of Pennsylvania and Franklin & Marshall, but not Penn State.

In 1968, Franklin was inducted into the hall of fame for this sport.

Track & field

Tennis

Swimming

Franklin was quite the swimmer, covering miles of the Thames River when he lived in London and also inventing his own swim fins.

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